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I bought a $50 telescope on Facebook Marketplace — here's what I learned
Can you buy cheap, used telescopes from online marketplaces and still achieve good results while saving hundreds of dollars? Actually, yes! And here's my journey.
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When brand new entry-level telescopes start at a few hundred dollars, the idea of getting anything decent for pocket change sounds like a pipe dream. Yet the secondhand market often hides real bargains for those willing to hunt them down. Deals like this appear because people buy on impulse, then quickly lose interest for various reasons.
Facebook Marketplace seemed like the best bet for such a deal, so I opted to keep an eye on the site for potential local bargains on the best telescopes I could find.
Amateur astronomy has a reputation for expensive equipment, but the used market flips that script somewhat. New telescopes in the $50 range are usually tiny 50- to 70-millimeter refractors that struggle with faint objects. I wanted more light-gathering power so I focused on searching for larger-aperture Newtonians.
The Celestron AstroMaster 130mm offered a decent 130 millimeters of aperture — more than double many cheap department store refractors. That extra size collects far more light, sharpens detail (especially on planets) and gives brighter views of fainter deep sky objects.
After about a week of scrolling on Marketplace I spotted a Celestron AstroMaster 130mm Newtonian reflector listed for just $50 by a local seller about 15 miles away. The photos showed it was in good condition complete with box and all parts. The seller said it had seen little use.
Hopeful, I drove across town to inspect the scope. Everything was present with no missing parts, and the optics were clean with no scratches. That was enough for me, and off I went with my bargain basement telescope!
Over the next few days I collimated, aligned and tested the scope on solar system targets and bright deep-sky objects. The results pleasantly surprised me. My $50 telescope delivered crisp planetary views and revealed many deep sky objects. It was not perfect but it proved that, with the right find and a bit of know-how, a tight budget need not limit the fun. Here is a breakdown of my experience.
The telescope came with everything needed to start observing that same night. Two Plössl eyepieces provided different magnifications, and there was also a red-dot finderscope and a manual equatorial mount with slow-motion cables.